Kth Largest Element in an Array

MediumArraysHeap

Solve this the way you would in the interview: out loud, on a timer, with an AI interviewer asking follow-ups while you code. You get a scored report at the end.

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Problem

Given an integer array nums and an integer k, return the kth largest element in the array. Note that it is the kth largest element in the sorted order, not the kth distinct element. Can you solve it without sorting?

Examples

Input: nums = [3,2,1,5,6,4], k = 2
Output: 5
Input: nums = [3,2,3,1,2,4,5,5,6], k = 4
Output: 4

Constraints

  • 1 <= k <= nums.length <= 10^5
  • -10^4 <= nums[i] <= 10^4

What the interviewer grades

A correct solution is one of five scores. The report also grades problem understanding (did you clarify inputs and edge cases before coding), problem solving, communication while you work, code quality, and testing. See a sample report, or read up on the pattern in the lessons.

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